


Clarity with Coffee

by FH14



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 05:19:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3315593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FH14/pseuds/FH14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An immigrant in 1920s London, Berwald struggles to adjust to his new job, amongst other new challenges. One of them is a man who smokes a pipe outside of the shop he works in every morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clarity with Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally written for the [Surströmmiakki Fest](http://surstrommiakki.dreamwidth.org/13976.html) on dreamwidth under the title **"The Smoke Outside"**. The prompt was "Smoke [Coffee or 1920s]".
> 
> The character Sister Alice is a version of Nyotalia England. Also, there was, in fact, an Italian Coffee shop that opened in London around this time, and cigarettes had not been invented yet. That being said, there are stories with much more historical accuracy than this one.
> 
> And thank you [Icelilly](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Icelilly/) for beta reading this. You're awesome!

Berwald was used to weird stares for a number of reasons.

Ever since he was a child he was unusually tall. His hair was an unusual light blonde for London, and his style of glasses were out of fashion and uncommon for the area.

Lately, however, the stares have been for a far less personal reason - his workplace.

Ever since he had arrived in London years earlier he had struggled to find work. For an immigrant who didn't speak very good English, his options were limited. It certainly didn't help that the country had just recently gotten out of a war that his homeland had remained neutral on. Not just any war - the Great War - which meant that some of those weird stares came from envy and anger toward his good health as a young man who presumably would've fought had he been British.

At first, he took odd jobs doing whatever he could to survive. At one point he worked in a factory, but decided to take his chances elsewhere after seeing firsthand the kind of accidents that took place in that environment.

Meeting the Vargas Brothers had been a moment of serendipity.

They had just opened a coffee shop, bringing over an atmosphere reminiscent of their homeland. While some regarded their business with suspicion due to its foreign nature, others flocked to it, desiring to experience just a little piece of an Italian city.

Berwald was hired on the spot when he proved capable in dealing with difficult customers, something that both brothers lacked the skill set for. Now instead of labor work, he worked behind a counter making coffee and organizing the special pastries that came from the bakery down the road. His life improved dramatically, though he still had trouble making friends. In fact, he was so bad at it that any desire he had to introduce himself was automatically curbed to save himself the embarrassment.

That's why that man was such an anomaly.

Each day, in the early morning before any customers would arrive, a young man would lean against the outside wall of the shop and smoke a pipe. He must have been around Berwald's age, and stuck out with the same fair features. Occasionally, Berwald would find himself staring at the young man, wondering what his name was and what he was doing up so early every morning.

He didn't look like a petty criminal. His coat was relatively nice - nicer than anything Berwald could afford - and he wore a dark newsboy cap and patchwork mittens. If anything, he looked like he worked in one of the better paying shops in town. The fact that Berwald deduced all this was off-putting, as was the pit he felt in his stomach when the man finished his pipe and left to go about his day.

It wasn’t until the first of December, the cold of winter looming on the city, that he finally learned the man’s name.

* * *

 By all accounts it wasn’t unusual for it to be this cold in December. Hell, the townspeople seemed to complain about it enough. But this winter looked to be worse than usual.

“If it snows here I will be so angry,” Lovino hissed, eyeballing a jar of coffee beans on the counter in front of him. “Especially after all that rain.”

“It should hold off. Maybe we’ll get a white Christmas?” Feliciano replied, fidgeting with the display in the front of the store. Berwald had spent a week making sure that the Christmas decorations were tasteful, but Feliciano couldn’t resist adding his own spin to the design.

“You half-wit! If it snows then we won’t be able to open for a few days. That’s lost business!” Lovino turned back to the jar of coffee beans. “Lord knows the Brits aren’t fond of coffee as it is.”

“I guess,” Feliciano sighed, his shoulders slumping.

Berwald finished up sweeping the store. It was unusual for both brothers to be here this early, but Lovino’s anxiety over the business had been dragging them both out earlier and earlier lately. While they did do good business, the fact that the townspeople preferred tea over coffee wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

The man came as he always did to the front of the store and lit his pipe, his breath visible as it mixed with the smoke, almost like he was creating his own fog. He shoved his hands into his armpits, looking severely unhappy.

“I don’t know,” Feliciano sighed, staring at the display. “Does it look okay?”

“It looked fine before. I don’t know why you’re so hung up on it,” Lovino snapped.

“What do you think Berwald?” Feliciano asked, and Berwald snapped back to attention, nodding enthusiastically at the display.

“A fountain of words this morning I see,” Lovino grumbled, looking up outside. “Hey, who’s that loitering in front of the store? Is it a customer?”

“I don’t think he ever comes in here. We’re never open this early,” Berwald said, causing Lovino to jump in his seat. “He just smokes his pipe and moves on most mornings.”

“He shouldn’t stay out there,” Lovino said, “Tell him to get inside or get lost. I don’t want someone freezing to death on our doorstep on top of everything else.”

Berwald nodded, but he felt his stomach drop. He had ruled out the possibility of actually talking to the young man ages ago, and now he would have to do it with his bosses watching.

Or at least Lovino. Feliciano still looked unhappy with the display and wasn’t paying much attention.

As he walked outside, the young man looked up, holding a lighter up to the tobacco pipe that seemed to have gone out. He pulled the pipe out of his mouth and nodded at Berwald, “Sorry. Do you need me to move away from the store?”

“N-no,” Berwald said, composing himself. “Actually we’d like you to come in. Don’t want you to freeze.”

“That’s kind of you, but I can’t stay long. I just stop under this overhang to have a quick smoke and run off to work.”

“Oh?” Berwald asked, awkwardly trying to position himself. “What is your job?”

“I’m a schoolteacher,” he explained, lighting the pipe and pressing it to his lips, “At the Abbey a few blocks over. I’d smoke there but Sister Alice detests it and would wallop me good.”

“Nuns?” Berwald said, and immediately kicked himself. It was an Abbey so of course nuns would be there. Somehow that made him feel a bit uneasy, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

The young man pulled the pipe out of his mouth and chuckled. “Yeah, the nuns can be a bit strict. But the children are great.” He took another puff of the pipe and looked up at Berwald. “So, do you like working in… a coffee shop? How exotic.”

“’s great,” Berwald said, “The bosses are really great and so is the coffee.”

“Sounds great,” the young man smirked, and Berwald felt butterflies flood his stomach. The young man held out his hand. “I’m Tino by the way.”

“Berwald,” he mumbled back, shaking his hand.

“Well Berwald, I better get going, but it was fun talking to you. Maybe I’ll come in sometime and try some of that ‘great’ coffee,” Tino winked. Berwald felt the butterflies fly up his throat and start to cut off his oxygen supply.

As Berwald watched Tino walk away, he felt himself overcome with a light, fuzzy feeling accompanied by a new sense of anticipation.

* * *

True to his word, Tino stopped inside the shop a few days later. Berwald was stacking boxes behind the counter when he heard the bell to the shop ring.

“Ciao. Welcome to our shop,” Feliciano cheerfully announced. After saying it repeatedly over the course of any given day, the inflection of his voice was almost rhythmic, like no effort was required at all.

But seeing as how Berwald rarely spoke during the work day, he found himself tongue tied when he looked up to see Tino staring at him expectantly.

“So, I hear this place has great coffee,” Tino grinned. Despite his best efforts to maintain eye contact, Berwald looked down, but did his best to pass it off as an exaggerated nod.

“Oh Bene Bene. Our coffee is very good,” Feliciano gushed, making his way over. “Would you like to buy some? It’s good for the soul!”

“I would. Thank you. A cappuccino sounds tasty,” Tino said, smiling. “I wonder if the Sisters would think so…”

“Oh you have sisters?” Feliciano asked. “Are they pretty?”

“Feli you heretic!” Lovino snapped, coming out from the back room. “He’s talking about the nuns at the Abbey down the road.”

“Oh no. What have I done?” Feliciano cried out, looking panicked. “Such a great sin I’ve-“

“Just go in the back and say a few Hail Marys,” Lovino hissed, pushing him towards the back. “Sorry about him. He can be a bit absentminded.”

“Don’t worry. It’s okay,” Tino choked out, clearly trying not to laugh.

Lovino turned to Berwald. “Sorry, could you handle this? I need to run an errand and Feliciano will be a while.”

Berwald nodded, and began stiffly going through the motions of making a cappuccino.

“And don’t be so quiet and awkward in front of the customers,” Lovino sighed, shaking his head. He nodded to Tino before heading out the front door.

Berwald counted his lucky stars that he was heating the milk at that moment, because he felt his face redden out of embarrassment. Lovino scolding him for such a thing was hardly anything new, but for some reason he felt incredibly embarrassed that he did it in front of Tino.

“Customers can be intimidating, huh?” Tino remarked, sitting down at the counter and making himself comfortable. The other customers filled the small table area at the other end of the counter, so for all intents and purposes Berwald and Tino were off by themselves in a corner of the shop.

Not that Berwald thought of it that way. Not at all.

“Yeah, they can be,” Berwald admitted, putting the finishing touches on the cappuccino. “I mean, you’re not intimidating…”

“Relax,” Tino laughed. “It’s okay to find people intimidating. I work with nuns remember? They’re nice but they can definitely be intimidating.”

“Do you like it?” Berwald asked, handing Tino the cup as he put several coins on the counter. “Working at the Abbey I mean.”

“Well, I only really deal with teaching the children and some religious study, so it’s pretty fun actually. It’s not like I live there full time,” Tino explained, lifting up the cup. “And the sisters there are very nice, even considering my sin.”

Berwald blinked, “Sin?”

Tino shook his lead, laughing nervously. “It’s nothing. Forget I said anything.” Smiling, he took a sip of this drink. “Goodness! You were right. This is great.”

In that moment, Berwald couldn’t help beaming a little.

* * *

Tino stopped into the coffee shop a handful of more times over the next couple of weeks, but unlike the first time, he had to wait in line behind a new crop of customers who were willing to spend their hard-earned money to spend time in a place that was warm. Lovino was ecstatic, especially since a single snowflake had yet to fall and disrupt the heavy flow of bodies in and out of the shop.

“It probably won’t snow, you know?” Tino remarked, stepping inside one morning to smoke a pipe, “and if it does it will only mean one day of lost business.”

“You don’t know my luck,” Lovino frowned, cleaning cups beside Berwald behind the counter.

“You can make your own luck,” Feliciano said, fixing the sign in the window.

Lovino froze, bristling, before silently putting the cup down. “I’m going to go check the back inventory.”

Tino looked at Berwald with an eyebrow raised, but he just shook his head silently. He learned a long time ago not to go digging into people’s personal lives.

Which made all the conversations he’s had with Tino that much more unusual.

It turned out that he was originally born in Finland and emigrated to London just a year before. Like Berwald, Tino had a difficult time until he became more fluent in English and landed his current job. Because of that, at least partially, Berwald felt comfortable talking to him about the culture shock in a way he hadn’t been able to before.

“Um,” Berwald said, putting the last of the cups away, “I just realized, I’ve never actually been inside the Abbey. I’m not Catholic so I’ve never had reason to.”

“Hm?” Tino grunted, taking a drag from his pipe. “It’s not very interesting. I mean, it’s not ugly or anything but you’re better off going to a cathedral.”

“Oh, well, I mean I haven’t had many opportunities to attend mass. I’m usually so exhausted on Sunday that I use it for rest-“ Berwald froze. “Not that I mean disrespect to the Church.”

“If you won’t tell I won’t,” Tino said.

“Not the reaction I expected,” Berwald said, barely concealing his surprise.

“Don’t be so surprised,” Tino laughed, though it sounded a bit forced. “I’m no man of the church, believe me.”

Berwald didn’t know how to react to that.

Tino took one last drag of his pipe then looked outside. “I better get going. It’s been fun.”

“Yeah,” Berwald said, “It’s nice to be able to talk to someone like this.”

Tino smiled at him, “Next time, maybe we can talk when you’re not working. Like, just have a cup of coffee.”

“That sounds good,” Berwald said, a light feeling overtaking him. Even after Tino left, it stayed behind like the phantom of his presence.

* * *

Tino didn’t come by the next couple of days.

Not that Berwald would’ve had time to talk if he had. Christmas was only a week and a half away, which meant people were out an about making preparations. The wealthier citizens were out shopping for gifts, while the rest prepared for guests and putting together some sort of Christmas observance of their own. Said preparations usually involved investing in more food than usual, or spending money on trinkets for any children in the household.

As a result, it meant more people stopping inside to get warm while the Vargas Brothers did their best to push product.

It was only when he popped in the third morning that Berwald realized how much he actually missed him.

“Alone today?” Tino asked.

Berwald nodded, lazily cleaning up.

"The preparations for Christmas have been exhausting. There's still so much left to do too," Tino said, taking out his pipe. "It's nice to relax here. It has a good atmosphere and good company."

Berwald gave him a small smile, unsure how to respond.

Tino talked for a little while longer, and just as he got up to leave, the door to the storage room opened and Lovino came stumbling out.

"Ah," He shook his head, "Where is it... oh!" He looked up at Berwald and Tino and immediately brightened. "Say, do you have any idea what Sister Alice's drink preferences are. I know we have some Italian teas stored here somewhere..."

"Sister Alice?" Tino asked his voice speeding up. "Why? I mean, is she coming here?"

"Yes. Fairly soon." Lovino gestured toward the Christmas display. "Feliciano thought it best that we pay our respects considering the season and all."

"Ah, I see," Tino nodded. "Well, I best be going."

Before Berwald could say anything, Tino was already out the door.

“Huh. Wonder what that was about?” Lovino said, picking up a cup and inspecting it. All things considered, he didn’t look particularly happy either.

 _Well, nuns can be pretty intimidating I guess_ , Berwald thought to himself, polishing the last of the cups.

Ten minutes later, a woman that could only be described as ‘as intimidating as the Lord himself’ walked into the coffee shop.

“Sister Alice, thank you for coming. Happy Christmas!” Lovino said, doing his best impression of Feliciano greeting customers.

 _Feliciano should’ve just come_ , Berwald thought, watching him awkwardly lead Sister Alice to one of the nicer tables. _Actually, best not. She is rather pretty._

“I can’t stay long,” Berwald overheard her say. “But I couldn’t help but wonder about this place, Italians in London and all. You are Catholics are you not?”

“Of course!” Lovino said a bit louder than necessary. “We attend mass every Sunday.”

 _Liar_ , Berwald thought, facing away from them to hide what could be construed as a smirk. _Feliciano goes to church. You stay here and go over our finances._

“That’s quite good to hear,” She said. “Um, I guess I should have a standard coffee then.”

“Would you like cream or sugar?”

“Oh, that’s too luxurious, I couldn’t possibly.”

“I don’t mean to offend your sensibilities, but without it you might find it too bitter,” Lovino said, standing straight up as a fancy doorman would. “I would hate for you to find what we sell here lacking.”

Alice regarded him for a moment before nodding. “Very well then.”

“It’ll be just a few moments,” Lovino said, nodding over to Berwald.

Berwald nodded back, already having started to filter the hot water through the coffee grounds.

“I must apologize for not paying my respects to the Abbey in person. It is not a suitable excuse, but running a business has been more time-consuming than I initially believed it would be,” Lovino said, doing his best to charm the nun.

However, she appeared rather unamused. “It rather seems that you have the time now.”

“Yes, well, we stayed late yesterday making sure we could get morning preparations done much faster,” Lovino explained, his eyebrow twitching a bit.

Berwald walked over and set the coffee down in front of Sister Alice, and Lovino gave him a nod of thanks.

Sister Alice stared suspiciously at the liquid before picking it up and taking a tentative sip. “Oh my, a woman of the cloth should not drink something like this. Surely it is a sin.”

“You would think, but even Popes have been known to indulge.”

Sister Alice looked almost insulted, but said nothing. Instead she continued sipping her coffee as one would a cup of tea.

“In fact, one of your colleagues was just here,” Lovino said, clearly having given up on making a perfect impression. “He and Berwald here have become quite good friends I believe.”

Alice quickly put her cup down. “Tino Väinämöinen? He’s been coming here?” She asked. Her voice was calm, but her expression quickly betrayed that she had been taken off guard.

Lovino blinked. “Should he not?”

“No. He shouldn’t,” the nun said, tensing up. “I realize you have no way of knowing this, but he is repenting a great sin. To think, after all we’ve done for him, even allowing him the opportunity to help teach our flock, that he would be so brazen as to indulge in...” She stopped and cleared her throat, before regarding both Lovino and Berwald as one would a misbehaving child.

“Surely his sin wasn’t that great?” Lovino said, a slight edge to his voice.

“Oh but it is. If the authorities found out…” Sister Alice bowed her head, whispering in hushed tones. “That the Abbey was harboring a homosexual, why, we’d be excommunicated!”

Sister Alice stared pointedly at Berwald and he stared back, trying to process her words. _Tino is…_ He shook his head, as if to shake away all the emotions currently fighting for dominance. Of all of them, it was a light feeling in his chest that seemed to be winning out, though an inexplicable fear coursing through his veins came in at a close second.

_What… is this? Am I… happy?_

“Well this is certainly a turn of events. Thank you for telling us,” Lovino said, though he didn’t sound particularly sincere. In fact, the edge to his voice only grew more pronounced. “Unfortunately, we have to get the shop ready for business soon.”

“Of course. And I’ll do my part in making sure that Mr. Väinämöinen doesn’t bother you anymore. It was lovely to make your acquaintance,” Sister Alice said, a frost in her tone that made it clear that it was not, in fact, lovely to meet them.

Berwald couldn’t spend too much energy pondering this exchange though, because it was as if every moment of his life was rapidly being repositioning itself in a new light. Feelings and actions that didn’t make sense before became all too understandable.

And what he understood was that he was scared. By the time Sister Alice had left, Berwald felt like he was going to pass out.

“Listen to me closely Berwald,” Lovino said, cutting through his subordinate’s panic attack. “You should not tell Feliciano about this. As far as he’ll be concerned, I’ll have discouraged the Sister from returning to prevent any untoward advances from him. Do I make myself clear?”

“But why-“

“Do I make myself clear?!”

Berwald nodded, and Lovino turned away, his expression unreadable. No, it wasn’t completely unreadable. It was almost like he was… sad.

“Come on. We need to finish getting ready. We’re opening soon.”

* * *

Tino didn’t come back to the coffee shop.

The days leading up to Christmas were no busier than the ones before, but they seemed much longer now. Of course, the new set of thoughts tormenting Berwald both while awake and asleep certainly didn’t help.

The feelings he was having frightened him. Whenever he thought about Tino, which was frequently, he felt his heart twist in a way that could only be described as lustful. Or more optimistically, romantic.

Either way he was still scared.

Lovino had kept his word and said nothing about the incident, but there was no way he could know about him. Know that Berwald was like that as well… Could he? Berwald kept thinking about the pointed looks Sister Alice gave him that morning. She must’ve known. Perhaps she thought Tino had ensnared him in some kind of perversion, but Berwald knew that wasn’t true. He had felt this way for a long time, even before he met Tino, but it was only that day that he figured out what that feeling was.

And regardless of everything he had been told about homosexuality, he couldn’t find it in himself to see it as a bad thing. The feelings part, anyway. The legal and religious implications definitely weren’t good.

By the time Christmas Eve had rolled around, he was a mess of mixed emotions. The shop had done extremely well, and Lovino was in much better spirits. Feliciano was even talked about hiring another person to help out, and Berwald had more money in his pocket than he was used to.

Despite all that, Berwald still felt miserable closing up the shop.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow. Warm food and a late mass, what more could you want?” Feliciano said cheerfully. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll meet a pretty girl at the church!”

“Just no nuns,” Lovino chided.

Feliciano lowered his head guiltily. “I know. Don’t worry, I won’t cause anyone any problems. Well, if I don’t see you, Happy Christmas Berwald!”

“Happy Christmas Feliciano,” Berwald said, trying and failing to match his level of enthusiasm. Feliciano didn’t seem to notice, and happily made his way upstairs to his lodgings.

Berwald continued to clean the shop in silence, stealing quick glances at the stool where Tino normally sat. Around the fourth time he did, he heard Lovino let out a heavy sigh.

“Berwald, can I talk to you about something?”

Berwald felt his stomach drop, but found himself nodding nonetheless.

Lovino sat down on one of the tables, lacing his hands together in front of him as if he were praying, though it was clear he was really thinking hard about something. After a moment he looked up. “Feliciano uses the word sin a lot, have you noticed?”

Berwald blinked, not entirely sure where this was going.

“He never used to use it. He only started using it when we moved to London. Well, when I came to London and he followed me,” Lovino looked back down. “He doesn’t say it because he hits on too many pretty girls, though he probably should. He says it to remind me that I need to be safe. I hate being safe.”

Berwald continued to stare at him in confusion, a vague sense of understanding starting to form. “Are you-?”

“Yes,” Lovino said. “And acting on my feelings nearly cost me everything. As far as my parents are concerned I died years ago.” His voice sounded unnaturally empty, as if he was forcing himself to stay poised. “But the truth is, I don’t regret it.”

Now Berwald was really confused. “What?”

“I know. It sounds insane but,” Lovino forced a laugh, his voice cracking. “I felt love. I was loved. Hell, maybe he still loves me. And I wouldn’t trade that feeling for anything in the world.” He shook his head, “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is… if you’ve found something like that, you should embrace it. I know it’s scary but… if you don’t you’ll regret it.”

* * *

Berwald finished closing up the shop, thinking about everything Lovino had said. As soon as the other man had finished talking, he childishly said that he should be grateful for his guidance before leaving. Berwald could tell he was visibly shaken though, so he didn’t hold it against him.

 _Could Tino and I have something?_ Berwald sighed, leaving the shop and following the fence of the nearby park back to his lodgings. _This is insane. Of course we can’t. Something like that would be too dangerous, and that’s assuming Tino even feels that way about-_

_Tino?!_

Berwald could scarcely believe it, but he could see the familiar jacket and the distinctive blond mop top covered dark newsboy cap. Tino was walking through the park, and didn’t seem to notice him.

Before Berwald realized what he was doing, he was running after him, as if possessed by some kind of manic spirit. As he rounded the corner, he spotted him. He was facing away from him, standing in an alcove of the part that was difficult to see, even at night. The only thing giving away his position was the light from a match as he lit his pipe.

Unfortunately, Berwald didn’t have time to think of his next step, as he immediately slipped on a sheet of ice and fell to the ground.

By the time he got himself steady, Tino had begun walking deeper into the alcove.

“Tino!,” he yelled as loud as he dared, sprinting over to him.

Tino turned around in surprise, though his expression quickly morphed into shock and fear as Berwald came charging at him. It seemed all the more justified considering he skidded to a stop, taking long hard gasps as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Wha-,” Tino said, dropping his pipe onto the ground. “Berwald I- Oh. Sister Alice visited your shop,” Tino stepped backward and began stammering. “I didn’t mean- I can explain-“

“Tino,” Berwald gasped. “I don- hah- hate you.”

Tino stared at him blankly, “You- you don’t? But I’m perverted. My family back home said so, as do the Sisters-“

“You’re not a pervert.”

“Yes, I am,” he insisted. “And a coward. I stopped repenting and told Sister Alice I’ve been cured but I know it’s not true. The thoughts I have, they’re…” Tino hesitated. “Cruel. I shouldn’t burden anyone, especially someone as kind as you with-“

“Stop. Don’t talk about yourself like that. You’re…” Berwald stepped forward, grabbing a hold of Tino’s jacket. “Ever since I saw you outside the window of the coffee shop, I’ve wanted to do this.”

It wasn’t the smartest decision Berwald had ever made, considering that while they were reasonably hidden, someone could walk by at any time, but in that moment he couldn’t bring himself to care. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against Tino’s pulling him close to his body. It was not quite what he expected. It was warm, and Tino’s face was flush from the cold winter air. And the feeling that welled up inside his chest was something he couldn’t have anticipated. It was like the sensation he got around Tino before, only so heightened he was impressed he could still stand.

Tino remained still at first, but after a few moments leaned into the kiss, wrapping his own arms around the back of Berwald’s neck to pull him in closer. After a few minutes they broke apart, both of them now gasping for breath.

Berwald coughed and fixed his scarf. “So… um…”

“Yeah, that was…” Tino said, a smile spreading across his face. “We should try that again. But maybe not here, and not now.”

“So, um, you’re not working at the Abbey anymore right?” Berwald said, “Lovino and Feliciano were talking about hiring someone… don’t worry, Lovino doesn’t think you-“

“Slow down,” Tino laughed. “I mean, I definitely want to talk to you about that later, but for now I think we should just talk about…” He paused, as if collecting his thoughts, and leaned towards Berwald. “Come closer I need to tell you something.”

Berwald leaned forward, “Yeah?”

“I like you,” Tino said, his demeanor completely changed from the beginning of their encounter. Now he practically radiated a warmth that Berwald wanted to wrap himself in.

Getting warm in general seemed like a good idea, because as soon as Tino spoke, a snowflake landed on Berwald’s nose.

Berwald awkwardly leaned in close to Tino’s ear. “I like you too,” he whispered.

Tino laughed, and looked up at him with intensity unlike anything Berwald had ever seen. Relief, happiness, joy… maybe even the beginnings of love.

Suffice to say, Berwald wasn’t used to this kind of stare, but in the best way possible.


End file.
